A DECADE ago trainer Derek Cheng Tai-chee had won the Hongkong Derby with a horse called Football, ridden by good friend Joe Mercer, and son Paul was champion apprentice.
They were vying with the Moores to be hailed the ''first family'' of Hongkong racing.
The same Derek was champion jockey of Hongkong himself 20 years ago, when he wound up a riding career that had seen him reign supreme.
But last week what might have been an enduring Hongkong racing dynasty ended when Paul ''resigned'' as assistant trainer to Wong Tang-ping.
Derek's career as a trainer ended ingloriously in 1986 when he was disqualified for four years on betting offences, turned up during the Shanghai Syndicate investigation.
He later applied to be licensed in Hongkong and then Macau as a trainer, but without success.
Paul quit the saddle to become an assistant trainer but with little success.
